1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to a light control apparatus and, more particularly, to a light control apparatus configured to display a charging state of a rechargeable battery, a vehicle having the light control apparatus, and a method for controlling the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Eco-friendly vehicles travel on the road using electricity as its power source so as to improve fuel efficiency and reduce the amount of discharged harmful gas. Eco-friendly vehicles include an electric vehicle and a hybrid vehicle. The electric vehicle may include a motor and a rechargeable battery as a power source, may rotate the motor using power of the rechargeable battery, and may drive the wheels using the rotation of the motor.
Meanwhile, the hybrid vehicle may include an engine, a battery, and a motor, and may travel on the road using mechanical power of the engine and electric power of the motor. The hybrid vehicle may travel in an electric vehicle (EV) mode in which power of the motor is used only, or may travel in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode in which power of the engine and power of the motor are used. The hybrid vehicle may also perform a regenerative braking (RB) mode in which braking energy or inertial energy is recovered through electric generation of the motor during braking or coasting caused by inertia so as to charge the battery. In addition, the hybrid vehicle may control a starter generator to operate as a generator by engine power, and may control a starter generator to operate as a generator by power delivered through the engine in an energy regenerative mode so that the battery can be charged.
A charger installed in a parking lot, a charging station, or the like can be used to charge the battery of an eco-friendly vehicle. If a wire plug of a charger is connected to a battery plug of the eco-friendly vehicle, the vehicle may receive power from the battery, and may charge the battery with the received power. However, it is difficult for a user to recognize a charging state of the battery in the eco-friendly vehicle.